Asherah Cinnamon’s frequently collaborative work translates concept into object, installation, or performance, using sustainably harvested wood, fiber, and recycled materials. Her projects often engage the public in discussion, thought, and action about personal relationships and social justice. Highlights of her career include solo and group exhibitions at three Jewish Museums from Oregon to London, England and a 2008 Beijing Olympic Landscape Sculpture Five Rings Award. She is the first two time recipient of the Linda and Joel Abromson Award. As a social activist and community builder she received recognition from the New England United Methodist Church, the State of Maine, and the US Holocaust Museum. Deeply rooted in Jewish Feminism, this immigrant child of Nazi Holocaust survivors makes her home in the Maine woods. This will be her third residency at Art Kibbutz. “The Path of Miriam: Miriam the prophet saved her brother Moses’ life with an idea and a basket. Doesn’t that mean she saved the Israelites too? In summer 2016 visitors to Governor’s Island will have the opportunity to participate personally in my explorations of the relationships between the female Jewish experience of sexism, male domination, body image, self-concept, and leadership.”

In October 2017 Asherah participated at Sukkah Wood, a communal art event Art Kibbutz co-sponsored with the Chabad of Inwood.

Artist Statement

Rooted in feminism and social activism, I am inspired by 6,000 years of Jewish history, values, philosophy, and art. I am a contemporary sculptor doing work that is often functional for a communal environment. Community Ceremony and its objects help us remember ourselves, holding meaning and ethical solutions beyond any single culture. One example is Dwelling Place, a temporary dwelling, rich with history and tradition, but also ripe with contemporary nuance and opportunity, bringing people together in the open air.

As the immigrant child of Holocaust survivors, I found home in the Maine woods. Here, using local materials, I translate concept into object, installation, or collaborative performance. My practice explores tikkun olam, healing disconnection.The environment has become a central focus; projects develop over months or years, often involving the public, and frequently in collaboration with other artists.